1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical disk drive, and in particular to an optical disk drive with a protection of the pickup head.
2. Description of the Related Art
Optical disk drives are widely used in notebooks and desktop computers. Most computer manufacturers regard CD-ROM drives as a standard equipment. Optical disk drives are categorized into external and internal types. When the optical disk drives are shipped, the pickup head therein may be damaged due to vibrations. Usually, to prevent damages, a small piece of hard cardboard is inserted to protect the pickup head. However, this method is not reliable and is not applicable to internal type disk drives. Without any protecting device during shipping, the pickup head may moves along guide rods in the internal type optical disk drive to cause damages.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the pickup head and guide rods of a conventional optical disk drive. The optical disk drive 10 has a chassis 100, a main guide rod 101, a sub guide rod 102, and a pickup head 104. The main and sub guide rods 101, 102 are disposed on either side of the pickup head 104. The pickup head 104 is unrestricted and movable along both the main and sub guide rods 101, 102. During shipping, freely moveable pickup head 104 may collide with other elements in the optical disk drive 10, and thus cause damages of the pickup head and the optical disk drive 10.
Hence, there is a need for an optical disk drive with pickup head protection during transport.